Whimsy

Whimsy:

a fanciful or fantastic device, object, or creation especially in writing or art
(Merriam-Webster)

I think I may have mentioned before that our local quilt shop has closed. Sad, but nothing I could do about it. My nearest quilt shop is now in a smaller community about 20 minutes drive away, which is not bad when you consider that you can be living in a large city and and take at least that long to get to your local quilt shop. But since I no longer drive outside of town during the winter, I guess I  will no longer be visiting a quilt shop in person once the snow flies. 
So, I visited my nearest quilt shop recently and, as usual, headed to the clearance section. That's where I found this border stripe print. 

It says: 
    Open your heart and soul.
    Seek wonderment.
    Embrace whimsy. 
    Envision good things.
    Dream and make it real. 
I really liked it, the colours, the funky design, but I wasn't sure what to do with it. What does one do with border stripes, besides backing or Triangle Frenzy table runners? Then the clerk in the shop showed me some of the quilts where they used border prints, separated into the individual stripes, alternated with simple rectangles of coordinating fabrics. And I thought that was a cool idea - simple and quick yet still attractive.  
And then I thought that I could get enough of the border print to use in a queen-sized quilt top for my bed. I do have several more complex patterns that I intend to make for my bed. Some day. But this way I could make a fairly quick quilt and finally have one of my own quilts for my bed. 
I did some calculations, determining what size and width I wanted the different fabric rectangles (I hadn't taken any measurements on any of the ones in the shop), and utilized my Quilt Pro 6 software to design a layout and calculate yardage. And on my first quilt shop hop with a couple of friends from the Lutheran church crafting group, I took the border print fabric along with me. Once again, I hit the bargain section and came up with some blender fabrics that look good with it. 

I love the colours, but initially I felt that the design was quite boring. You may recall that I like to challenge myself with complex quilt blocks and designs, and this just wasn't meeting my expectations. I felt better about it once I put the borders on as it seemed to help make the quilt top more cohesive. But I determined to use a more complex quilting design since the design of the quilt was so simple. 

And I chose New Delhi #2, a fun and funky design that I felt suited the vibe of the border print. 

I chose this large pansy print for the backing. While I wouldn't normally want anyone to say that the back of a quilt I'd made is prettier than the front, in this case, I think it may be true. 
Now, if only it would stop raining long enough for me to get all of my bedding (blanket, comforter, pillows, etc.) washed and on the line to dry. Then I will make up the bed with this quilt on top. Meanwhile, I'm sleeping in the basement bedroom, where I already have one of my own quilts on the bed.